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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339724">Keep It Together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseverdict/pseuds/roseverdict'>roseverdict</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mystery Skulls Animated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Hanahaki Disease, LEWVITHUR WE LOVE TO SEE IT, Multi, Post-Hellbent (Mystery Skulls Animated), SO HOWSABOUT THAT NEW VIDEO AMIRITE, i feel i should specify this isn't following the future, im just SUPER-MEGA-FEAR.JPG, oh there's a tag for it im just blind wkdjskdjdk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:21:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseverdict/pseuds/roseverdict</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanahaki. Noun. The name of a disease one can contract when one feels love for another and believes it to be unrequited. Causes the ill party to begin growing flowers in their lungs which will do the ill party in if the subject(s) of their affections seem to reject them.</p>
<p>Or, Arthur's got a <i>lot</i> on his plate, and it all comes crashing down in the semi…and it might not be a bad thing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>292</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. It's Down To You, It's Down To Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Crossposting from <a href="https://roseverdict.tumblr.com/tagged/msa-hanahaki-fic/">my Tumblr,</a> <i>finally.</i> I'd gotten caught up in a feedback loop of "i gotta touch this up before i post it" and finally just went "screw it" and did it, and now here it is on good ol' AO3! Enjoy! :D</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Arthur's problems all decide to beat him up at once, and a ghost takes a crucial second to <i>think.</i></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>guess what’s UP <i>that’s right IT’S FINALLY HANAHAKI MSA TIME FELLAS</i></p><p>Canon-divergent at Hellbent. Like, it changes right before Lewis yeets Artie.</p><p>Content warnings: Arthur has the “flowers in his lungs because he’s pining” disease and he has it <i>bad.</i> It interrupts canon’s cliffhanger, but Arthur still has a bad time and <i>does</i> cough up quite a bit of blood.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arthur couldn’t breathe.</p><p>Not just because of the panic attack threatening to latch onto him, overwhelm him, and drag him under with its claws, though it certainly played a large part.</p><p>Not just because of the magenta mists swirling around him, a photo-negative mirror of the fog that haunted his nightmares and sent phantom pains shooting up his lost arm.</p><p>Not just because of the pitter-pattering of his pulse, fluttering a good four times faster than the throbbing spectral beat around him.</p><p>No, Arthur couldn’t breathe because the bitter mass in his lungs that always flared up at the Tome Tomb and the cemetery had chosen that very moment to remind him of its presence.</p><p>He tripped over his feet, skidding to a stop with his arms sprawled out before him, and he <em>retched.</em></p><p>This was the sight the Manor Ghost walked in on, staying his hand for one crucial moment.</p><p>Arthur managed to get his good arm underneath him, his fist to his left and his elbow to his right. From what Lance had told him once, he probably looked and sounded like a cat hacking up a hairball.</p><p>Just like he had every time he had an attack, he took back everything he may have once said about cats being able to “live the dream.”</p><p>There was blood (there was always blood, nowadays) before the first bunch of flowers tumbled free. Blue orchids stained red fell limply to the side.</p><p>(Had somebody turned the heat up in this spooky semi truck?)</p><p>Arthur wasn’t done. There was a yet-bigger mass still coming, and he couldn’t hold back a groan.</p><p>These flowers were always more painful, especially after Lewis’s disappearance.</p><p>He steeled himself, tensing the muscles in his core for a brief moment before his coughing fit began anew.</p><p>First one glowing purple-gold rose fell, then another, and still another. Their thorns scratched at his throat and mouth and lips, drawing fresh blood from old wounds, but there was <em>always one more.</em></p><p>(Was the sudden chill along his spine from the world around him going cold? Or was he just experiencing the effects of all the messed-up stuff about his body at once?)</p><p>Finally, <em>finally,</em> the last of the blossoms came out, though he still heaved for a while longer until the blood-tainted globs were mostly clear. He took a few rattling breaths before remembering what was going on when he succumbed.</p><p>Arthur jolted into motion, spinning around and turning to face the ghost behind him with exhausted, terrified eyes. He wasn’t any less vulnerable, but at least like this, he could use his right arm to shamble backwards if he felt the need. “Wh-” He almost fell back into a coughing fit, but managed to swallow it down. “-why are you doing this?”</p><p>The Manor Ghost looked down at the blood-stained flowers, then at Arthur himself, taking special notice of the limp, metallic arm at his side. “…I thought I knew.”</p><p>Well, <em>that</em> explained neither <em>jack</em> nor <em>squat.</em></p><p>Arthur dared to push himself a bit further upright. Maybe trying to channel what little therapy he’d gotten before diving headfirst into his search for Lewis, especially for a ghost who had wanted him <em>dead</em> just a few scant moments prior, wasn’t very high on his list of good ideas.</p><p>Then again, it wasn’t like he was gonna live much longer anyway.</p><p>You only live once, as Vivi loved to say.</p><p>“W-well, what did, what did you <em>think</em> was the reason?” He managed, trying (with limited success) to shake the bloodied petals from his arm before they dried and got stuck.</p><p>That seemed to spark the Manor Ghost’s fiery temper, and he looked Arthur dead in the eyes. “Because you <em>killed</em> me, Arthur. Aren’t you supposed to have a genius-level intellect in that sorry excuse for a brain?”</p><p>Arthur boxed up the visceral terror of <em>having a vengeful ghost know his name, know him personally, and STILL have it out for him.</em> He could deal with it later. Preferably never.</p><p>
  <em>Still.</em>
</p><p>If the ghost thought they knew each other, he may as well play along. “Must’ve gotten shuffled around with the trauma and the insomnia and the search for my missing friend.”</p><p>Shit. He didn’t mean to snark at the murderous specter. Was that too snarky? He might’ve been too snarky.</p><p>“Missing-?! <em>I’M RIGHT HERE!</em>” The ghost snarled, momentary confusion seemingly set aside. “You can’t really expect me to believe you’ve <em>forgotten!</em>”</p><p>Yep. Too snarky. <em>Way</em> too snarky.</p><p>Arthur tried to scramble away, but the ghost snatched him up by the collar of his shirt, dragging him up to meet his eyes.</p><p>“You <em>killed</em> me, Arthur!” The ghost repeated, and then a flurry of flames engulfed his head and <em>Lewis kept talking.</em> “You shoved me off this cliff <em>and you LAUGHED!</em>”</p><p>Arthur’s face was blank, his wide eyes the only sign of the despair and sheer horror warring in his mind.</p><p>Lewis’s ghost <em>(how could it be Lewis, Lewis was his FRIEND but the ghost wanted him DEAD)</em> faltered, gaze wandering to the flower petals still stuck to Arthur’s forearm. “But…it just doesn’t make sense. Hanahaki doesn’t just come out of nowhere, and it’s <em>never</em> inaccurate.”</p><p>Arthur’s eyes snapped to his other arm, the dangling one of metal that had once been flesh. He knew the Cave from his nightmares had taken his arm, Vivi’s memories, and Lewis himself from them, but <em>this?</em></p><p>“So why did you do it, Arthur?”</p><p>As if to taunt him, his arm sparked, twitching outside of his control before falling limp again.</p><p>“Why did you push me?”</p><p>He’d thought his eyes couldn’t go any wider.</p><p>
  <em>He’d thought wrong.</em>
</p><p>〜〜〜</p><p>There were rumors floating around about the “haunted” cave just outside of town.</p><p>“C'mon, nerds! Let’s go find ourselves a cave spirit!”</p><p>Hikers going missing only to reappear weeks later, convinced beyond reason that it had only been a few hours.</p><p>“Vivi, I don’t know about this…and I know I say that a lot, but I <em>mean</em> it this time! More than I ever have before!”</p><p>Some hikers never returned at all.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Artie. If anything tries to get to you, they’ll have to go through <em>me</em> to do it!”</p><p>The eerie green mists crawled along his arm, swirling so densely that he could barely even see it, even though the rest of the cavern was almost completely clear.</p><p>“Woah, Art, take a look at this! I think I can see Vivi from here!”</p><p>As if to taunt him, his arm numbed, twitching outside of his control before lifting.</p><p>“L-Lew-wis-!”</p><p>There was always a kernel of truth to every legend. Sometimes, several kernels.</p><p>“Arthur, are you okaAAAAAAAGH-!”</p><p>His friend was falling and his arm was outstretched.</p><p>“LEEEWIIIIIS!!!”</p><p>His friend had fallen and their leader was screaming and his arm was gone and he was screaming and their dog wasn’t a dog and everyone was screaming and his friend was DEAD.</p><p>But his friend couldn’t <em>possibly</em> be dead! He…he wouldn’t believe it!</p><p>He coughed up flower petals at the hospital, blue and purple alike, so <em>clearly</em> his friend was still out there!</p><p>It didn’t matter that their leader couldn’t remember him! Once they brought his friend home, the two of them could make up for lost time!</p><p>It didn’t matter that the sight of their not-dog’s teeth always sent him into a panic! Once they brought his friend home, he could slowly work his way up from hiding behind him to enjoying the not-dog’s company again, like they’d done with the snakes in the zoo!</p><p>It didn’t matter that every time he closed his eyes, he’d be assaulted with images of his friend’s broken body, each more gruesome than the last!</p><p>It didn’t matter that every flower he coughed up was soaked in more of the bitter, coppery tang than the ones before!</p><p>It didn’t matter that it had almost been a year since his friend vanished!</p><p>
  <em>It didn’t matter!</em>
</p><p>All he had to do was find his friend, prove his nightmares wrong, and</p><p>bring</p><p>
  <em>him</em>
</p><p>
  <em>HOME!</em>
</p><p>〜〜〜</p><p>But Lewis was dead.</p><p>And Arthur’s hand had been the one to kill him.</p><p>Arthur couldn’t breathe, and for once, it wasn’t because of flowers blooming in places they were never meant to.</p><p>Lewis’s ghost dropped him as if scalded, and he crumpled on the floor, not even trying to get up.</p><p>Arthur couldn’t breathe.</p><p>Lewis would never be able to breathe again.</p><p>“A-Arthur, I-<em>what?</em>” Lewis’s ghost’s voice had lost its edge entirely.</p><p>Had he seen what Arthur had seen?</p><p>
  <em>Arthur couldn’t breathe.</em>
</p><p><em>Now</em> the flowers were coming. Or maybe he was just having a nice, old-fashioned panic attack, and the flowers rising from his throat were just a side effect of having his entire world torn to shreds.</p><p>When had the rocky ground given way to metal flooring?</p><p>There were voices around him, swelling with emotions like the tides, but he couldn’t make out any of their words.</p><p>There was orange, purple, blue, and red, and his mind’s eye flooded the sight with green before everything went dark.</p><p>Arthur couldn’t breathe.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Did You Ever Really Think That I'd Become</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Lewis does a lot of freaking out, and Vivi starts running out of nerves for everyone to get on.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And we’re back! :D This time we’re taking a look at things from Lewis’s perspective as he has to recategorize everything he thinks he knows! :D</p>
<p>Content warnings: More stuff of the “Arthur Caught The Lungflowers Disease And Blood Occurs” variety, but only for like a hot second.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lewis couldn’t breathe.</p>
<p>When Arthur had had his flashback, Lewis, a being of emotion who was completely focused on him at the time, had seen it too.</p>
<p>He dropped Arthur to the floor (not the spikes, <i>not</i> the spikes) and staggered back, collapsing against the wall of the false cave. With barely a thought, the cave warped back into the semi truck, leaving no evidence of its existence beyond Lewis’s memories.</p>
<p>And Arthur’s.</p>
<p>But Arthur hadn’t moved to get up, still dry-heaving on the floor.</p>
<p>“A-Arthur, I-<i>what?</i>”</p>
<p>Lewis almost didn’t realize he’d spoken.</p>
<p>The door of the semi’s trailer shot up, revealing Lance Kingsmen before he could pound on it and demand entry. He froze for a moment, taking in the sight of a very visible, very horrified, <i>very</i> undead Lewis, but the sight of his nephew soon took up all his focus. “<i>Kid!</i>”</p>
<p>Lance clambered into the trailer, rushing to Arthur’s side and rolling him over to help get the flowers out of his system. “Dammit, Art, you said you’d confessed!”</p>
<p>The sound Lewis made was too raw to be called a word, but the question still rang true.</p>
<p>“He’s been coughing up these magic-ass flowers for the past year and a half, Pepper-brain!” Lance snapped. “Now, if you’re <i>done</i> having a crisis, <i>we need to get him to the hospital!</i>”</p>
<p>Lewis was <i>nowhere near done with his ‘crisis,’</i> but the end of Lance’s sentence pulled him back to awareness. “Uh, h-<i>hospital!</i> Right!”</p>
<p>“You pick him up. I’m gonna go put my gun back and get the worktruck running.” Lance ordered, gently wiping the bloodied petals from Arthur’s arm before getting back to his feet. “We don’t have much time, but it’s still better than none.”</p>
<p>“Got it.” Lewis slipped his hands underneath Arthur’s body, and <i>there was no way his ghostly strength alone was making it this easy to lift him.</i></p>
<p>Lance strode back out of the trailer, hopping to the ground without losing speed. Lewis followed, still in a daze.</p>
<p>Arthur…hadn’t wanted to kill him.</p>
<p>What did that make Lewis?</p>
<p>…that was a question for later, when Arthur <i>wasn’t</i> coughing up flowers born of unspoken love.</p>
<p>He glanced up at the sound of Vivi’s voice. “Wha-ARTIE!”</p>
<p>She nearly plowed right into him, skidding to a stop at the last possible second and staring at Arthur’s coppery lips. For a moment, she didn’t react, but then she glared up at him. “Did you do this to him, Ghost-face?”</p>
<p>“I-no, I-<i>hanahaki.</i>” Lewis stammered, unable to look away from her. “He tripped and fell and-and there were <i>flowers-!</i>”</p>
<p>“Hanahaki?” Vivi seemed completely blindsided. “<i>Arthur?</i> With <i>hanahaki?</i>”</p>
<p>“HEY, PEPPER! YOU COMING OR WHAT?” Lance called from the Kingsmen worktruck, honking for good measure.</p>
<p>“Y-YEAH!” Lewis jolted. He glanced back to Vivi. “We’re taking him to the hospital, he’s, he’s coughed up so many flowers-”</p>
<p>“Say no more, Pinky.” Vivi cut him off with a simple raised hand. She turned back to the wrecked Skullmobile (Arthur’s baby! <i>He’d wrecked Arthur’s baby!</i>) and whistled, a sharp, piercing tone slicing through the early morning air. “Mys-<i>T'RYYY!</i>”</p>
<p>A kitsune spirit whose aura radiated power and wisdom and <i>the dog he’d seen eat more than even Vivi</i> came bounding around the Skullmobile. “You’re lucky, I was just about done dealing with Shiromo-<i>what.</i>”</p>
<p>“No time!” Vivi declared, lifting her finger into the air. “Shrink back down if you can, and then we’re joining Lance and Ghost-breath over here to take Arthur to the hospital for hanahaki treatment, apparently!”</p>
<p>Lewis was getting increasingly gobsmacked by the things he was learning tonight/this morning.</p>
<p>As such, he just decided to tune out most of the awkward drive to the hospital. With Lance and Vivi in front, and himself, Mystery, and Arthur in back, the only way he could think of to make the situation worse was to replace the worktruck with a regular-sized car.</p>
<p>The mental image of cramming himself into the back seat of Vivi’s little subcompact while trying not to jostle Arthur fell somewhere between hilarious and hysterical.</p>
<p>He came back to himself as they burst into the lobby. The sunglasses he’d found in a box in the truck managed to hide his ghostly eyes, but not his panic. “My, my f-friend, he-he’s <i>throwing up flowers-!</i>”</p>
<p>As if to prove the truth of his words, Arthur coughed weakly in his sleep, and an orchid and a rose dangled from his lips for a moment before dropping to the floor with twin wet smacks.</p>
<p>There was a flurry of activity as the doctors took him into their care, and Lewis found himself talking to one of them, sitting in a private room with the rest of the Skulls and Lance.</p>
<p>The doctor who’d taken over typed something into her computer, then turned to Lewis. “I haven’t seen you around for any of Arthur’s physical therapy appointments. How did you say you knew him?”</p>
<p>The best legends always had a kernel of truth to them, and so did the best lies.</p>
<p>“We were friends for most of our childhoods, but after a…a <i>really bad</i> misunderstanding a while ago, we went our separate ways.” Lewis told her. Technically, he wasn’t lying about the whole thing, just the severity of it. “I only just recently learned about the misunderstanding, and I was about to confront him about it when he just…he just started hacking up flowers, right in front of me.”</p>
<p>“Hm.” The doctor nodded, processing his answer for a moment before adding a note to whatever she was working on. “Late-stage hanahaki attacks <i>can</i> be triggered more and more easily. Perhaps something about you reminded him of his unrequited love.”</p>
<p>Way to grind salt into the wound, Doc.</p>
<p>That was what he wanted to say, but instead he settled for, “Perhaps.”</p>
<p>“Now, what kind of flower was he coughing up?” The doctor asked.</p>
<p>“Well, one of them was a blue…I think it was an orchid? I’m not good with flowers.” Lewis chuckled anxiously. “It had two of those sticky-uppy bits that usually store pollen, I think, but they were bright pink.”</p>
<p>“One of them?” The doctor seemed taken aback. “You mean…there were more?”</p>
<p>“Just the one other. A deep purple rose, but the center was a vibrant golden color.” Lewis explained.</p>
<p>“Yearning for the affections of not just one, but <i>two</i> others…” The doctor mused, glancing between Lewis and Vivi for a moment before a knowing gleam entered her eye. “And how many of you knew about this?”</p>
<p>“Just me, apparently.” Lance grumbled. “Art <i>said</i> he’d confessed <i>months</i> ago!”</p>
<p>As if in agreement (Lewis had to stifle a hysterical giggle. “As if!”), Mystery joined in with a quiet bark before rubbing his head along Lance’s lap in a bid for pets.</p>
<p>“And neither of you two were aware of this at all?” The doctor asked, one of her eyebrows lifting as she pieced together what she could of the puzzle.</p>
<p>“Nope!” Vivi shook her head, nearly losing her glasses to the movement.</p>
<p>“Not at all.” Lewis agreed, the locket hidden in his chest cavity flaking a little bit more at the thought.</p>
<p>The doctor didn’t respond immediately, hitting the save button on her work and closing her laptop.</p>
<p>“Please, will he be able to have visitors?” Lewis asked, his hands fiddling with his ascot. “I…I can’t just leave things on such a sour note.”</p>
<p>Again, not a lie.</p>
<p>“Considering the fact that I believe we have his cures right here in this room, it’s very possible.” The doctor stood, offering a hand each to Vivi and Lewis.</p>
<p>Wait.</p>
<p>
  <i>What?</i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Someone You'd Call…Your Enemy?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Vivi is hellbent on getting answers, and Arthur wakes up.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alternate Title: The Chapter Where Vivi Has HAD IT</p>
<p>This one’s a bit longer than the other two, but a bit more happens in this one, so I think it’s justified! :D There is a part where Several Things Happen All At Once, so one of the Things isn’t really expanded on due to pacing reasons, but it’s the same sort of dealio as when it happened in <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22008424">Bent Out Of Shape</a>, that <i>other</i> MSA fic I did that I somehow managed to write in like 2 weeks. <strike><i><span class="small">(shameless plug eodheodjsodjsdo)</span></i></strike></p>
<p><strike><span class="small">hopefully</span></strike> It’ll make sense when you read it skdbskdjsldk</p>
<p>Content warnings: Again, Arthur’s lungs have a bloody bad time, literally. That’s it, though.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vivi couldn’t breathe.</p>
<p>The doctor had led their little group of misfits to the room where Arthur had been hooked up to countless machines, citing that the only known <i>true</i> cure for hanahaki was to have the afflicted confess to the one they yearned for.</p>
<p>But for Arthur to have feelings for her? <i>And</i> the ghost who’d pulled on a human-looking guise it hurt to look at?</p>
<p>The only way she could even <i>begin</i> to rationalize it was if the ghost was the one Arthur was looking for, the one he swore up and down that Vivi was in love with when she couldn’t remember anything of the sort.</p>
<p>(Arthur’s heart monitor beeped slowly, reassuring her that he was still breathing, even if just barely.)</p>
<p>But that begged the question of <i>why the ghost who’d seemingly garnered the affections of both herself and Arthur had been out for their blood.</i></p>
<p>Vivi forced herself to take a deep breath before lifting her head from her hands. “So. Spooky. What’s your <i>deal?</i>”</p>
<p>The ghost startled at the venom in her voice. (A small part of her, buried under her confusion and concern, felt only smug satisfaction at that.) “I-? What?”</p>
<p>“Your <i>deal.</i> Your beef with us that <i>maaagically</i> disappeared the instant Artie started <i>horking up plants.</i>” Vivi snapped, gesturing to the bucket the doctors had told them to keep any coughed-up flowers in for analysis. “<i>What? Is? It?</i>”</p>
<p>(Lance looked up from his own hands at that, so many emotions warring on his face that none of them could be identified.)</p>
<p>“I-well, I-that is-!” The ghost seemed unable to piece together a coherent sentence, pinned under Vivi’s glare as he was.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, Mystery came to his rescue. “While I’m not entirely sure how he recognized the flowers for what they were, I believe I may be able to shed some light on his previous anger.”</p>
<p>“Oh, then by all means, <i>do</i> enlighten us!” Vivi pushed herself upright and threw an arm over the back of her chair.</p>
<p>“The cave that Arthur has nightmares about, the one you woke up in front of with no memory of how you’d gotten there and a heavily-bleeding friend in your arms…” Mystery began, his eyes becoming those of a tired ancient rather than a carefree pet. “…it was haunted by a demonic entity which specialized in tearing soulmates apart. The entity had latched onto Arthur’s arm, using him to shove your mutual love to his demise. I was able to remove it, but…doing so required the removal of Arthur’s possessed limb. I…I was too hesitant, waiting when I should have acted.”</p>
<p>“I-I’d thought he’d <i>wanted</i> to…” The ghost managed, his darkened eyes offering a silent plea to <i>believe him, please, it’s the truth.</i> “I caught sight of his face as I fell and…and all I saw was a cruel grin.”</p>
<p>“This does make me curious, however…” Mystery turned his calculating stare on the ghost. “…how were you able to make the connection between the flowers and yourself? It’s hard enough for humans to identify the bonds of love, even with such drastic physical evidence. <i>You</i> are a spirit who was caught up in the throes of vengeance at the time. How did the sight of the flowers stop you?”</p>
<p>“…they almost didn’t.” The ghost admitted, dropping his gaze to his hands and twiddling his fingers in a way that <i>almost felt familiar.</i> “He coughed up the orchids first, and after running into this strange tree woman back where I’d faded, I recognized them as being connected to Vivi-”</p>
<p>“You encountered a <i>what?!</i>”</p>
<p>Mystery’s outburst (and the sudden enormity of his shadow) made the ghost shrink back. “A…a tree woman? She woke me up after you three got out of my manor. I'd…kinda overexerted myself with that, to be honest. I was stuck in my anchor for a while there, but then she showed up out of the blue and…used my essence to grow flowers? I think that’s what she did. I was about to hit her into next week, but she left with a glowing red lotus before I could. She left behind three flowers, two of which, well…”</p>
<p>He glanced at the bucket of bloodied flowers in explanation before continuing.</p>
<p>“…The third was this really sickly-looking sunflower thing. I, uh…I kinda stomped on it.”</p>
<p>Mystery’s ears flattened for a moment, but he rolled his eyes and started thinking aloud. “Of course, <i>that</i> was what startled Arthur out of his search. Having a representation of one’s soul crushed into the ground would send shivers up <i>anyone’s</i> spine. Probably aggravated his conditions, too…”</p>
<p>The ghost groaned and buried his head in his hands, inadvertently making it easier for Vivi to look at him. “…I really messed this up, didn’t I?”</p>
<p>A heavy sigh from Lance’s direction caught their attention. “It sounds to me like this whole situation is more of a <i>shit</i>uation, but from where I’m standing?”</p>
<p>He looked up at them, meeting their eyes. “You snapped out of it before doing anything permanent. Your dog did the best he could. Vivi’s been there for Artie as much as he’d let her. Art’s been hurting, hell, you’ve <i>all</i> been hurting, but now you kids have a <i>chance.</i>”</p>
<p>The heartbeat monitor beeped a little faster, and Arthur’s brow furrowed ever-so-slightly.</p>
<p>Lance gave them an exhausted grin, sliding from his seat to approach the bed, taking Arthur’s hand in his own. “<i>Take it.</i>”</p>
<p>“Ung…Lanz?” Arthur moaned, blinking bleary eyes open. “…where…?”</p>
<p>“Hospital.” Lance answered, drilling him with an unimpressed stare. “Kid, you told me you’d confessed months ago.”</p>
<p>Arthur had the good sense to look abashed, though any retorts he may have had were cut off when he started coughing, a chesty, rattling sound.</p>
<p>Lance paled. “The bucket, get-<i>get the bucket!”</i></p>
<p>Vivi snapped out of her daze and grabbed it, shoving it in front of Arthur’s mouth in time to catch the two blossoms that plopped out. An orchid had managed to get entwined with the unnaturally-glowing rose it had come out with.</p>
<p>Arthur stared at it for a moment, his eyes widening as his grip on Lance’s hand went slack.</p>
<p>Then he looked up to Vivi and the ghost, and his hand shot over to his stump. “You-? I-! I kih-I-I <i>killed-!</i>”</p>
<p>“No, Artie, you didn’t.” Vivi set the bucket aside in favor of carefully prying his fingers from the scarred flesh of his missing arm. “We pieced together what happened while you were out.”</p>
<p>The laugh that bubbled from Arthur’s throat was nothing short of bitter. “So…so that’s it then? You wanted to tell me, what, you don’t want a friend in someone selfish enough to fall in love with both of you? Understandable, frankly-!”</p>
<p>“Wha-? Arthur, <i>no!</i>” Vivi clung to his hand, refusing to let him pull away. “Where is <i>this</i> coming from?!”</p>
<p>“Well, it’s not like the, the <i>thing</i> got in through any kind of <i>resentment!</i>” Arthur yanked his hand free anyway, coughing a few stray petals into it. “If I could’ve just-if I could’ve just been <i>content</i> with what I had-! But <i>nooo,</i> I <i>couldn’t!</i> And, and then the <i>thing</i> got in and then <i>you</i> DIED-!” He cut himself off with a choked sob, halfway through his gesture to the ghost.</p>
<p>The ghost whose anchor was barely holding itself together.</p>
<p>Looked like Vivi was going to have to smack some sense into Arthur. Metaphorically. So she didn’t instigate another hanahaki fit.</p>
<p>“Arthur, you are gonna <i>shut up</i> and <i>let me talk.</i>” Vivi’s tone brokered no argument, and she grabbed his hand again, holding it tightly in her own.</p>
<p>“…yes, ma'am.”</p>
<p>Vivi took a shaky breath, pressing Arthur’s fingers to her lips for a moment before speaking. “Artie, if you’re gonna rag on yourself for being ‘selfish,’ you’re just gonna have to rag on me, too.”</p>
<p>“V-Vi-?”</p>
<p>“I <i>know</i> my memory’s spotty, but even before the cave, in the closest thing I have to a memory of this guy-” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder at the ghost, whose face was falling into an expression of surprise, “-I can remember thinking 'I love you.’ <i>Plural.</i> Even if I can’t remember anything about the other person I meant it about, <i>dammit</i> Artie, I meant it about <i>you,</i> too!”</p>
<p>“At…at the Cave.” The ghost cut in, tentatively placing his hands on Arthur’s and Vivi’s. “We, Vivi and I, we’d decided to split up differently that time. We were gonna see if maybe…maybe you felt the same way as we did.”</p>
<p>Arthur’s breathy gasp barely made it to Vivi’s ears, but it still got her to look up.</p>
<p>There were tears in his eyes.</p>
<p>For once, they didn’t seem like sad ones.</p>
<p>“I was gonna go first, maybe try to pose the theoretical to you. Just get a sense for where you stood on the whole idea, y'know?” The ghost glanced away. “Then, uh. The demon happened.”</p>
<p>The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, but before it could drag on for too long, Arthur sucked in a thin breath. “Y-you…<i>both</i> of you?”</p>
<p>“Always, Artie.” The ghost nodded, managing a small smile. Vivi copied him a second later.</p>
<p>There was a brief moment where Arthur didn’t move, his eyes wet, wide, and wobbling.</p>
<p>Then his lower lip trembled, and his forehead knit together, and Vivi was convinced his eyes were burning, to boot.</p>
<p>Arthur pulled his hand from Vivi’s and the ghost’s, throwing his arm around them and pulling himself forward to lean into their shoulders as a keening whine rose from his chest. Taking the hint, Vivi and the ghost both wrapped their arms around him, with the ghost holding Vivi, too.</p>
<p>Arthur hiccupped, and he managed three short words.</p>
<p>
  <i>“I love you!”</i>
</p>
<p>Several things happened all at once.</p>
<p>Arthur’s chest stopped shaking from his cries and began shaking from his coughs instead.</p>
<p>The shocked gasps of Vivi and the ghost, paired with their surprised jump backwards, managed to knock the ghost’s anchor from its place.</p>
<p>Lance grimaced and shot to his feet, running to the door and calling for help.</p>
<p>Vivi glanced to the side at the sudden pale golden glow (and wasn’t the anchor completely dim before?) and lifted a hand to it, entranced, before slumping back against the ghost’s chest with a strangled gasp.</p>
<p>Mystery bounded after Lance, barking up a storm.</p>
<p>The ghost-<i>Lewis</i>-caught Vivi as her mind started back up again, this time with all her memories intact.</p>
<p>Vivi swore she’d make sense of everything once the world calmed down, but first:</p>
<p>“Lew, be a dear and <i>give Artie the bucket!</i>”</p>
<p>Lewis complied from sheer force of habit, though it didn’t stop him from shooting a wide-eyed, teary look her way.</p>
<p>Vivi just returned it with a smirk, pulling herself upright so she could help steady the bucket.</p>
<p>The doctor from before burst in, two nurses hot on her heels. “Status on the patient?!”</p>
<p>“We just confessed!” Vivi explained. “We were all hugging, and then he said he loves us, and then <i>this</i> happened! What do we do?”</p>
<p>The doctor smiled, though she still rushed to the bed and started checking Arthur’s vitals on the monitors set up all around. “We wait. Hanahaki removal can either be done by hand, risking the removal of all affections related to the flowers, or it can come in its own time. We’ll still have to check him over once the flowers come out, since having flowers in your lungs is never fun, and the thorns from the roses may cause further scarring on their way out, but this should be the last hanahaki attack Arthur has.”</p>
<p>Even in the throes of his heaving, hacking fit, Arthur managed a shaky thumbs-up before clinging to the bucket tighter than before.</p>
<p>One of the nurses approached Vivi and Lewis. “You two should probably wait outside. We’ll call you back in once the worst has passed.”</p>
<p>“Right.” Vivi nodded, getting to her feet and heading for the door. Lewis followed, but first placed his anchor on Arthur’s lap with a warm pat.</p>
<p>Once they’d collected Mystery and Lance, they stepped outside, and the door shut behind them.</p>
<p>“…y'think he’ll be alright?” Lance asked, cringing at the sounds of body-wracking coughs from inside the room.</p>
<p>Vivi sagged back against the wall and glanced at Lewis, who had reached up to cup the empty space where his anchor usually hung with a small smile.</p>
<p>She mirrored it.</p>
<p>“I know so.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. When I'm With You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Mystery feels it's safe to finally look towards the future.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>aka “The Chapter That Tripped Me Up For No Reason” and “The Chapter That Makes It Blatantly Obvious This Was Written In 2019” skxjskdkdk</p>
<p>anyway! <i>finale!</i> this is the one where they just Vibe and we get some comfort after all that hurt! it’s a bit shorter than the rest but i physically Could Not Get Words Out Of My Brain by the end so i just threw in the towel at the best spot and called it a day xD</p>
<p>no content warnings this time, i don’t think! i mean, i’d hate to be an off-screen character right now, but for completely comedic reasons as opposed to anything angsty :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mystery took a deep breath.</p>
<p>Arthur was getting discharged from the hospital today.</p>
<p>All the scans the doctors had done, all the info they’d collected on his health, everything pointed to Arthur making a full recovery.</p>
<p>Mystery breathed out, carefully controlling the airflow.</p>
<p>Now if Lewis would <i>stop pacing-!</i></p>
<p>“-but what if there’s a last-minute complication and they have to take him back for surgery and something goes wrong-!” Lewis rambled, his right arm hugging himself around the chest while he ran his left hand through his <i>flickering hair.</i></p>
<p>Mystery felt the blood rush from his face, and he barked once. At Lewis’s incredulous look, he glanced at the other people in the waiting room before drilling Lewis with a tense stare.</p>
<p>Lewis glanced up at the sight of his hair’s glow, and with an awkward chuckle, he made it settle back down. “Sorry, Mystery. I’m just…well, y'know.”</p>
<p>Mystery nodded with a quiet whine. He was worried, too.</p>
<p>Lewis sighed and plopped down in the chair beside Mystery, scratching him behind the ears. “It's…it’s still kinda hard to believe, to be honest. After all this time, I had things <i>so</i> wrong that it’d probably be hilarious if it wasn’t so painful…”</p>
<p>Mystery lightly nipped at his hand, the admonishment he <i>wanted</i> to give held back by the knowledge that other people wouldn’t expect a dog to talk.</p>
<p>“I know, I know, I’m just…aaah!” Lewis threw his hands up in the air with his quiet scream. “You know? <i>Aaaaah!</i>”</p>
<p>Mystery nodded, rubbing up against Lewis’s side with what could almost be called a howl. “Baaaaaowr…”</p>
<p>Lewis snorted, dropping his hands back down to pet Mystery some more. “How much longer d'ya think they’ll be?”</p>
<p>There came the faint sounds of crashing, followed by Vivi’s voice calling “I’m okay!”</p>
<p>“Speak of the devil…” Lewis looked up with a small smile.</p>
<p>The door to the rest of the wing flew open with a bang, Vivi holding the handles to a chuckling Arthur’s wheelchair while Lance and the doctor finished talking.</p>
<p>“Vivi, I don’t think <i>you’re</i> what we should be worried about.” Arthur gingerly twisted back in his seat to glance at her. “I’m more concerned about that wall.”</p>
<p>“Howsabout we get out of here without any more property damage?” Lance gave Vivi’s arm a little shove to get her moving.</p>
<p>“Alright, <i>alright!</i>” Vivi rolled her eyes and pushed Arthur’s wheelchair out of the doorway. “But I make no promises!”</p>
<p>“Arthur!” Lewis leapt to his feet, remembering at the last second to <i>not go airborne and fly through the room in front of a jillion witnesses.</i> Mystery huffed, the closest he dared get to a laugh, and trotted after him. “Everything’s clear? No surprises?”</p>
<p>“No surprises.” Arthur nodded, lifting up his hand. “Now that we’re all back in the same room, I assume you’ll be wanting this back?”</p>
<p>Mystery watched as Lewis made a show of “pinning” his anchor back in place, rather than just calling it back. “Thanks for holding onto it, Artie.”</p>
<p>“Thanks for trusting me with it.” The bags under Arthur’s eyes had faded under the watchful ministrations of the hospital staff, but for the briefest moment, they looked just as dark as they’d been when he’d been admitted.</p>
<p>Then the moment passed, and all that remained was an earnest (though still exhausted) smile that Arthur hadn’t worn for <i>far</i> too long, in Mystery’s not-so-humble opinion.</p>
<p>“C'mon, you sadsacks. Let’s at least get to the truck before we get all mushy.” Lance smirked, leading the others to the elevator.</p>
<p>“Yessir, Uncle Lance, sir.” Arthur lifted his hand in a sloppy salute, leaning back in the wheelchair with minimal wincing.</p>
<p>Mystery bounded ahead, hitting the elevator call button with his nose, then the button to hold the doors open. The Skulls (feat. Lance) filed in, as well as a father and his child who seemed anxious about something, though the kid brightened up at the sight of Mystery. They looked up at Lewis with bright eyes, and likely a gap-toothed grin under their facemask. “Is that your dog?”</p>
<p>“He’s mine, technically!” Vivi giggled from behind Arthur’s wheelchair. Mystery had to hold in a chuckle of his own.</p>
<p>“Can I-may I please pet him?” The child asked.</p>
<p>“Careful, Lou, we don’t know if you’re contagious yet.” The father warned.</p>
<p>Arthur snorted and waved it off. “Nah, man, it’s cool. Mystery’s been <i>around,</i> and it’ll take more than a cold to get any of us down. Trust us.”</p>
<p>Lou beamed at that and held out their hand for Mystery to sniff. “Hiya, Mystery!”</p>
<p>Mystery hammed it up some, licking their hand before pushing his head up into it, much to Lou’s delight.</p>
<p>Lewis laughed a little. “So you’re a Lou, too? I’m a Lewis.”</p>
<p>Lou giggled, scratching behind Mystery’s ears and babytalking a bit. “Oh, <i>who’s a good boy?</i>”</p>
<p>Their father smiled, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. “Thanks for letting them have this. It's…it’s been a day.”</p>
<p>“Oh, believe me, we know the feeling.” Lance reached up and gave him a hearty slap on the back. “Sometimes ya just gotta take a step back and breathe, y'know?”</p>
<p>“Yeah…” The father nodded slowly, but grew more decisive a few seconds later. “…yeah. You kids getting discharged?”</p>
<p>“Yep!” Vivi chirped, grinding her fist into Arthur’s head. “<i>Somebody</i> here caught the hanahaki bug, but we finally had a string of good l-!”</p>
<p>“Vivi, if you jinx us, I swear to God I’ll hide your new books.” Arthur cut her off.</p>
<p>“And I’ll help.” Lewis added.</p>
<p>“Fiiine, I won’t <i>say</i> it.” Vivi griped, glancing up at the cheerful ‘ding’ of the elevator doors. As she got her hands back in place on Arthur’s wheelchair, she smirked. “We all know I’m thinking it, though.”</p>
<p>Lou gave Mystery a few last scritches before taking their father’s hand and following him out into the main lobby. They waved back at the Skulls with a laugh. “Bye, Mystery! Bye, Lewis and Lewis’s friends!”</p>
<p>“Get well soon, Lou!” Lewis returned the wave as their group piled out of the elevator. Once they weren’t in Lou’s direct line of sight, he gave Mystery a knowing smirk. “Don’t think I didn’t catch that little blessing back there.”</p>
<p>“<i>Technically</i> not a blessing.” Mystery whispered. “<i>Technically</i>, all I did was give their aura a little boost.”</p>
<p>“…which would specifically attract beings which are more likely to help a sickly human child, and repel those who would do them harm.” Lewis countered.</p>
<p>Mystery chose not to answer Lewis’s lighthearted accusations this time, simply padding around and hopping up into Arthur’s lap. Arthur seemed startled at first (and Mystery inwardly chastised himself for that, <i>he’s still more fragile than usual</i>), but he started running his hand through Mystery’s fur a quick second later.</p>
<p>As she walked, Vivi just shook her head with a fond smile. “Alright, fine then. Keep your secrets.”</p>
<p>Lance pushed the buttons to keep the exit doors open, and the Skulls stepped into the open air.</p>
<p>“Let’s get you kids loaded up.” Lance said, once he’d given them a moment to just stand there. “Tacos are on the menu for tonight, and I’m getting hungry.”</p>
<p>“Aye-aye, Uncle Lance!” Vivi’s eyes lit up, and Arthur just had a second to let go of Mystery and fling his arm onto the armrest with a white-knuckled grip-!</p>
<p>“VIII<i>VIIIII!!!</i>”</p>
<p>“Careful, Vi, he’s still recovering!” Lewis called, rushing after them just a bit faster than he should’ve been able to.</p>
<p>“There’s no walls to crash into out here! We’ll be <i>fine!</i>” Vivi yelled back, racing down the sidewalk.</p>
<p>Mystery glanced up at Arthur’s face, somewhat taken aback at the hint of <i>excitement</i> slowly rising up in it. If Vivi hadn’t told him her idea when she’d woken up that morning, Mystery doubted he’d have let her go through with it.</p>
<p>But it seemed to be <i>working.</i></p>
<p>Vivi careened into the parking lot, dodging cars and pedestrains alike with a keen eye and a quick “excuse us!” over her shoulder. </p>
<p>Arthur managed a breathless giggle, even as his eyes went wide. “Vivi-!”</p>
<p>“Oh, <i>c'mon,</i> you’re not telling me you’re not having fun, are ya?” Vivi laughed.</p>
<p>Arthur just smiled, brighter and stronger than he had in far too long.</p>
<p>It was like a breath of fresh air, and Mystery knew there would be <i>much</i> more to come.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I legit just had to force out those last few sentences. I'd originally wanted to get them all the way home, buuut this worked so I went with it.</p>
<p>And now, time to scream about The Future. :) ＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡＡ</p></blockquote></div></div>
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